St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-12-25

metropolis of the Northwest. sour
plan of boulevard to environ st.
Paul." said Mr.. Van Slyke. ICON
templates that the start shall be made
at the mounds on Dayton'S bluff. through
Earl street, which is to be widened, If
this property can be secured, to Lake
Phalen. AT the junction of Phalen and
Como bOuleyards park is to be ar
ranged, and between the two lakes will
be drive 100 feet wide. An annex to
Como park is contemplated to the point
opposite the entrance to the state fair
grounds. the drive along which will be
200 feet wide. Connecting at Smelling,
which will be widened 100 feet to Sum-
init avenue boulevard, and thence to
Fort Smelling, it will give drive not
eXcelled anywhere, and Smelling avenue
will eventually be continued to West
Seventh street, taking in the Lookout
between the Twin Cities. This in brief
is the plan contemplated by the COM
mission, but an obstacle has arisen,
growing out of the disposition of prop
erty owners contiguous to the mounds,
and for that matter in other places, too,
to demand ten times what their holdings
are worth, and thus cherished project
for the identifying of st. Paul may be
defeated"
'Inside the city limits, since st. Paul
was laid out, there has always been
disposition manifested to
MEET THE COMMISSION
half way, and in many instances the
land necessary for parks has been do
mated outright by overs of the adjacent
property, who saw in these improve
ments an enhancement in value of their
other real estate. Take, for instance,
Rice park, donated to the city by Hon.
FL. NJ. Rice; Irvine park, the gift of
John r. Irvine; and Central park, the
site of the ice palace, q. free, will offering
to the city by Messrsi William Dawson,
William Lindeke, Um Lamprey
and Il. r. Schumacher. Three finer lOca-
tons could not be desired, and their i'm
prOvement has only kept pace with that
of the residences in their neighbOrhOOd,
and so it will be all over the city. La
fayette and Summit Avenue parks were
purchased, citizens subscribing One-half
the amount required and the city the
other half, and no one questions the
foresight and wisdom of these purchases.
But am sorry to say that in other parts
of the city where the commission would
like to locate parks. owners, thinking it
an opportunity to sell at bargain, have
raised their figures to such ridiculOuSly
eXtravagant heights that it is utterly
useless to even think of negotiating for
these sites, no matter how much they
may be desired.
''SOme day, when it is too late to repair
the error, some of these owners will
regret having taken step which sent
the parks from their midst into less
suitable localities, but in neighbOrhoOdS
where property owners were more pub
lic-spirited.
1.-The parks enumerated above are
those which have been improved and
otherwise beautified, while scores that
belong to the city are in places where
considerable grading and other work
remains to be done ere laying out or
planting can be attempted. In most
cases these parks are block or maybe
two in area, and among the number of
this class are: Smith Park, on Sibley
street; Park Place, corner st. Peter
street and Summit avenue: Dawson and
Walsh parks, in the West End addition
to st. Paul; Highland park, on Pleasant
avenue; st. Anthony and Merriam
Parks, at Midway, none of which have
yet been developed.
UNNAMED PARKS
are scattered throughout the city. most
of them donated many years ago when
the additions were plated in which
they are now located, but they will all
be cared for in due time.
Anything about parks would be i'll
complete without the very judiciOus
purchase comprising 1861 acres which
will i'll the future be known as Como
park, from its contiguity to the lake
bearing that name. An order is now
before the council in which Como ave-
nue. is to be opened and widened either
100 or 120 feet, thus leading into the
very heart of the city. Even this meas
ure has been opposed vigorously dur
ing the past five years, but it is now
only question of width, as the council
is convinced that the beauty of the city
will be increased by the addition of the
handsome street proposed by the COM
mission. 1t is also intended to eStab-
lish another park opposite Minnehaha,
embracing what is known as the Hidden
Falls, and the boulevarding will extend
to this point as soon as the necessary
surveys are completed. This park will
extend along the east bank of the Mis-
sissippi from the Hennepin county line
to Fort Smelling, provided property
owners will be content to receive fair
price for their ground and not exact
fabulous sum, which will be beyond the
limits fixed by the commission.
''During the winter a great deal of
work will be mapped out for inaugural
ing improvements as soon as spring
opens, in the multitude of parks here,
which will soon blossom as the rose"
OVER THE RIVER,